The 21-year-old rookie, a second-round pick out of LSU, has already caught the attention of the Jaguars' secondary. And not just because he has never shaved a day in his life.

Chark was thought to mostly be a downfield threat who could stretch the field with his speed when he was drafted in April. So far, he's proven he can do more than that.

Whether passes have come from Blake Bortles, Cody Kessler or Tanner Lee, Chark has shown dependable hands and looked comfortable working downfield, over the middle or wherever else the Jaguars' coaching staff has told him to be.

"That man is athletic," Bouye said. "He has a baby face, but he plays like he is 30."

Said Bortles: "He has gotten better each and every day. We talk about it in the quarterback room all the time. He is definitely headed in the right direction and on the right track. He obviously has the physical tools that you can’t really coach as far as size and speed and the ability to go get the ball and make plays."

Will Chark's strong start translate to the regular season? There is a long way to go before that can be answered. The Jaguars were on the field inside TIAA Bank Field for a team scrimmage Friday night, and their first preseason game is Thursday against visiting New Orleans.

But the 6-foot-4 Chark, who caught 40 passes for 874 yards and three touchdowns for the Tigers last year, has made at least one eye-opening play almost every day during training camp.

None was more impressive than back-to-back reps Wednesday during a one-on-one drill against cornerback Jalen Ramsey.

On the first play, Chark curled toward the back corner of the end zone and appeared to stay in-bounds while making a catch. Moments later, he left no doubt with a crisp slant pattern that beat Ramsey inside and into the end zone.

Get one over on a reigning first team All-Pro cornerback? That's impressive. Do it twice in a row? Things start to really get interesting.

"Him and Jalen working, you love to see those matchups because you are going against the best in the game," Bouye said. "If you see him do something like that to Jalen, you get excited."

Said Chark: "The coaches here are putting me in position to run different routes and making sure that I'm not just a one-trick pony. That's one thing I've been working on."

Squaring off against Ramsey and Bouye is a luxury for Chark and the rest of the Jaguars' receivers. Chark has gotten used to hearing constant chirping from the two Pro Bowl players, but they've also taken time to work on improving his technique.

"Those two guys really brought me in and helped me out," Chark said. "If I do something that they felt like they could have made a play on, they tell me about ways to fix it. I think it's really helping me out a lot."

The more Chark can learn and improve now, the more likely it is he can help the Jaguars when games count. They don't have a true No. 1 option at receiver, making Chark's emergence especially valuable.

Could he match the 48 catches for 548 yards that former Jaguars receiver Allen Robinson put up as a rookie in 2014? How about the 42 catches for 748 yards that Keelan Cole totaled during his first season a year ago? Something in that neighborhood seems more reasonable every time Chark makes a big play in practice.

Chark isn't worrying about any of that just yet. He didn't catch a single pass during his first two seasons at LSU, so he knows that adjustments take time.

That said, Chark feels he is in the ideal spot to prepare until the season starts Sept. 9 at the New York Giants.

"If you can compete here, you can compete anywhere," Chark said. "That's the mentality that I have every time I come into practice. I want to go against the best guys, and you don't have any letdown from the first, second or third team. Everybody is really good. And that's what I like. I can get better every day."

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